BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 236|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 236
Author: Beall (D)
Amended: 6/24/15
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 9-0, 5/5/15
AYES: Beall, Allen, Bates, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza,
Roth, Wieckowski
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella, Gaines
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 5/11/15 (Consent)
AYES: Allen, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Fuller,
Gaines, Galgiani, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill,
Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan,
Pavley, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson, De León, Liu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 71-4, 8/27/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Public streets, highways, and public service
easements
SOURCE: City of San Jose
DIGEST: This bill permits the legislative body of the City of
San Jose to summarily vacate a public service easement located
between Casselino Drive and Mullinex Way that is impassable for
vehicular travel, if the legislative body finds that the
vacation will protect the public safety or otherwise serve the
public interest and convenience.
Assembly Amendments delete the applicability of this bill to
streets and highways and therefore narrow the application to
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just a public service easement.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes a local agency to summarily vacate a public service
easement under one of the following conditions:
a) The public service easement has not been used for its
intended purpose for a prolonged period;
b) The date of the public easement dedication is at least a
year prior to, but less than five years from, the date of
the proposed vacation, and the easement has not been used
continuously since that date; or
c) The easement has been superseded by relocation and there
are no other public facilities located within the easement.
2)Prohibits summary vacation of a public easement if there are
in-place public utility facilities that are in use and would
be affected by the vacation.
3)Sets forth procedures local agencies are to follow to vacate
or reserve easements.
This bill:
1)Authorizes the City of San Jose, until January 1, 2018, to
summarily vacate a public service easement located between two
specific streets if it finds that the vacation will protect
the public safety or otherwise serve the public interest and
convenience.
2)Authorizes the City to reserve and except from the vacation an
easement to construct, maintain, operate, replace, remove, and
renew a non-vehicular pathway for public use.
3)Makes legislative findings that the need for this special law
is justified because of the "unique circumstances" facing the
City of San Jose with regard to the public service easement.
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Comments
Purpose of the bill. According to the City of San Jose,
Communications Hill, located in the heart of San Jose, is a
growing community overlooking the Santa Clara Valley. Its
central attraction is a 200-step staircase leading to the top of
the hill that has drawn visitors from throughout the city for
outdoor workouts. The staircase and its views have also
attracted bad actors who engage in illegal drug use and public
drinking, litter, commit acts of vandalism, and hold noisy
events late into the night. The hill's popularity has also
meant more traffic and scarce parking, causing consternation
amongst the residents who live near it. This bill permits the
City to terminate the public use of this staircase and therefore
permit the City to enact curfews and other regulations.
Unique circumstances. The City of San Jose has struggled to
respond to the growing number of complaints and nuisance
violations on Communications Hill, which transpire primarily at
night. This staircase was dedicated as a public service
easement, and, due to the fact that the staircase is open to the
public, the City must allow the sidewalk to be accessible at all
times.
Current statutory authority permits a local government to
summarily terminate the public use of a public easement;
however, the City of San Jose does not meet the requirements
necessary to utilize these existing processes. This bill
resolves these public safety issues by permitting the City of
San Jose to vacate, or terminate the public right to use, the
staircase on Communications Hill located between Casselino Drive
and Mullinex Way under limited circumstances and allow the City
to establish a public trail in its place. Public trails do not
have to remain accessible for public use and may therefore have
curfews imposed upon them. This bill also allows the City to
continue to maintain the staircase.
Limited applicability. This bill has a sunset of January 1,
2018, and will be repealed at that time.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
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Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/27/15)
City of San Jose (source)
Strangis Properties
Tuscany Hills Homeowners' Association Board of Directors
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/27/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 71-4, 8/27/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea, Quirk,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,
Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Williams,
Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Beth Gaines, Harper, Melendez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Eggman, Frazier, Mathis, Patterson, Wilk
Prepared by:Alison Dinmore / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
8/28/15 14:02:21
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